For months, the United States quietly brokered secret talks between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and exiled former leader Benazir Bhutto to ease Pakistan's political crisis and keep allies in charge of a country on the front line of extremism.
Pakistan can go ahead with its presidential election, but the winner can't be declared — at least not for a while, the country's Supreme Court said Friday.
Pakistan's Supreme Court decided a presidential election President Pervez Musharraf is sure of winning could go ahead on Saturday, but he cannot claim victory until it rules if he is eligible to stand.
Key dates as Pakistan holds presidential and parliamentary elections:
Pakistan's top court threw President Pervez Musharraf's re-election bid on Saturday into chaos by ruling that the winner cannot be declared before legal challenges against the vote are resolved.
President Pervez Musharraf seeks re-election in Pakistan, despite concerns over the legality of his bid.
There's no end in sight to the political upheavals in Pakistan. On Friday, the supreme court ruled that Saturday's presidential election in parliament and the provincial assemblies can go ahead, but the results will be withheld until the court rules later this month on Pervez Musharraf's eligibility.
Pakistan's Supreme Court kept the fate of President Pervez Musharraf's re-election bid in its hands by deciding a vote could go ahead on Saturday, but a winner cannot be declared until it rules if he was eligible to stand.
Benazir Bhutto has been pictured in People's list of the "World's 50 Most Beautiful People" and in an arrest notice from Interpol, the international police agency. The two-time Pakistan prime minister is poised for a return to politics.
On the eve of Pakistan's presidential vote, the country's highest court ruled Friday that no winner can be declared until it decides whether President Gen. Pervez Musharraf is an eligible candidate. Musharraf pushed toward an alliance with a former premier signing an amnesty clearing her of corruption charges.